Translator: Ning LL
“My grandma has said that Aunt Kang was not allowed to come to my family. Even if Aunt Kang did come, my grandma wouldn’t meet her.” Minglan explained.
Those words threw the whole room into an uproar. Everyone was wearing a shocked look. Old Madam Qin and Aunt Kang were both in a daze. Aunt Kang looked at Minglan as if she didn’t know the latter, thinking, ‘What happened to that illegal girl who always bears all the insults?’
“They all said that family troubles are not a thing to be talked about in public. However, since Old Madam Qin is so persistent, I couldn’t care about my own shame. Aunts, sisters-in-law, please be the judge.” Minglan took out her handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped the corner of her eyes.
“Although my grandma is a strict person, she wouldn’t say something so harsh to our relatives so easily. It’s just… Alas.” Minglan continued with a reluctant look, “My grandma said that Aunt Kang was a malicious woman who didn’t have a heart and was only good at plotting against others. That’s not what a decent woman would do. I’m not even able to count how many lives Aunt Kang have murdered. My grandma knows for sure that there were four. Five years ago, Aunt Kang has poisoned a person. Two years ago, she picked a quarrel with another person and beat the latter to death. Last year, a concubine of the Kang family was carried out of their mansion, dead together with the child in her belly.”
The hall suddenly turned cold and the women were all wearing astonished expressions. Fifth Old Madam was the worst at hiding her look. Now she was in a trance with her mouth widely open. No matter how unreasonable a person she was, she had never done anything so appalling like that.
“You, you slandered me!” Aunt Kang shouted with a sharp voice.
Minglan said slowly, “Aunt has asked for Madam Wang’s help. At that time, you said that you needed to cover something up and deal with an emergency. Although my grandma never asked about those things, she actually knows about everything. If you have to argue with me, I’ll have to give all the details.” Minglan made that up again. She got all those clues from Tu Hu.
Aunt Kang glared at Minglan with a fierce look as if she could shoot arrows from her eyes, but she couldn’t retort because all the things Minglan had said had hit her sore spot.
Minglan turned her eyes from Aunt Kang and continued her act by sobbing, “My grandma said that Madam Wang and Aunt Kang were siblings. One could never get rid of his kinship, so Madam Wang has no choice but help Aunt Kang. However, I am not an immediate family of Aunt Kang, how can I let her stuck with the Gu family?”
After Minglan gave the conclusion, the women led by Old Fifth Madam all looked to Old Madam Qin with disdainful looks in their eyes while thinking, ‘How can you make friends with such a vicious woman? Things of one kind come together. You are not a good person either. A mother-in-law shouldn’t interfere with the affairs of the wife of her legal son, you are just Gu Tingye’s stepmother, why were you so eager to find a concubine for him with all kinds of methods? You are up to no good for sure.’
First Madam Xuan and Second Madam Di were the quick-witted ones. They looked at each other and both said inwardly, ‘Old Madam Qin always plays the good guy. Now that she insisted on doing this regardless of her reputation, she must be planning something big.’
Old Madam Qin and Aunt Kang both got their faces vivid. They had thought about a lot of situations, but never did they realize that Minglan would leak her family secrets and ruin Aunt Kang’s reputation. Now the two women didn’t know how to react.
Fifth Old Madam said without scruples, “It’s your own family business whether your son would have concubines. We won’t ask anything about it.” As saying this, she bid farewell to Minglan. Old Madam Qin saw the situation going south and then shoot Aunt Kang a glance at once.
Aunt Kang, teeth gritted, could only play the last trick regardless of her own reputation. Her illegal daughter meant nothing to her. Then she suddenly stood up before Fifth Old Madam left and said with a loud voice, “What an eloquent niece! I, as your aunt, don’t dare to argue with you anymore.” Then she turned to Old Madam Qin and pretended to be angry, “You have said all those nice words to me before. Now what? Right now, everyone in the Kang family knows that Zhao’er will be a concubine of Master Gu, I am so ashamed to take her back. Her life depends on your family now!”
After saying that, Aunt Kang walked out of the hall in large strides and others were not even able to stop her. Then Zhao’er was left in the Gu’s mansion.
Fifth Old Madam went frozen. She looked at Minglan and then at Zhao’er. The latter covered her face and crouched by the side. Old Madam Qin sobbed, “What should I do now? It’s all my fault. I am forcing a good girl to die!”
First Madam Xuan looked at Minglan and Zhu shi and then moved her lips, seeming to want to say something. Old Madam Qin then said, “The Kang family is a prestigious family. The Kang’s ladies can’t be anyone’s concubine. Only Tingye deserves to have her!”
First Madam Xuan sighed and didn’t say anything.
“It’s such a waste of those delicious dishes.”
Minglan held the back of her waist and stood up, then said with a nonchalant look, “You have invited her here. It’s up to you. I’m tired.”
…
After Minglan went back to House of Auspiciousness, she finally couldn’t restrain her anger and smashed a cup. She stroked her chest which went up and down drastically and lay on the bed slowly. Danju who had served Minglan in the hall also got very furious. She wiped Minglan’s cold sweats and served the latter to have a rest.
Due to the overwork, Minglan got dizzy and gradually fell asleep. After a long while, Lvzhi suddenly came in and said in a low voice, “That bitch from the Kang family is kneeling outside the room!”
Hearing that, even Danju, the good-tempered girl, was enraged with her hair standing up, “Are they ever going to stop!”
As the two maids were about to slip out secretly, Minglan was suddenly awake and sat up, saying in a cold voice, “Help me get up, I’ll take a look.”
“Madam, don’t go out. Let her get down on her kneels! That’s just a trick to win your sympathy. No one would believe her!” Lvzhi said in a huff.
“Humph, if she’s from our mansion, I won’t be scared even if she dies. I’m just afraid that the Kang family will use her against me if anything happens to her.” Minglan said with an icy cold face. After that, she walked to the door slowly with the help of Danju.
Mama Cui was standing by the door while scowling at the person who kneeled in the yard.
It was hot at noon. The clouds on the sky made it difficult for people to breath. Kang Zhao’er knelt in the yard alone, seeming delicate and pitiful. As she saw Minglan coming out, she shed tears at once, “Cousin, please pity me! Save my life!”
Minglan snorted inwardly, ‘That’s great. Now I’m responsible for her life.’
She was not afraid of the concubines that Old Madam Qin would send to Gu Tingye. According to the relationship between Gu Tingye and Old Madam Qin, any girl the latter sent to him would disappear without a trace. However, the girl in front of Minglan was from the Kang family and also related to Gu Tingye’s mother-in-law, which meant he couldn’t hurt her. What a devilish plan!
‘Does that woman want to disgust me with this girl? She bets that Gu Tingye would be enchanted by this girl and become estranged with me? Will it be that simple?’
Minglan suddenly thought of something. She glanced at Mama Cui and said in a hurry, “You guys, search her body!”
Kang Zhao’er was still crying now and didn’t expect that she would be pressed down on the ground and searched by two strong servants and a few maids. At last, they found a pair of scissors in her sleeve.
“Madam, we found this.” Lvzhi held the scissors in her hand with a fierce look, “Madam, does she want to stab you?”
Minglan suddenly want to laugh. This girl must have heard too many stories.
Kang Zhao’er cried with her body shivering in anger, “No, no, I would never dare to have that thought!” After that, she kept begging for mercy.
“Since she’s clean now, bring her inside.” Minglan turned around with a smile.
Two maids carried Kang Zhao’er who had already got limb into the room. After they put her at the place five steps away from Minglan, they glowered at Kang Zhao’er by both sides. Mama Cui and Danju as well as other maids also stared at the Kang Zhao’er, waiting to kick her to death if she made any violent action.
Minglan sat in the middle while touching the hem of her dress slowly, “Mama Cui is the most cautious person and never allows any outsider to step into this yard in case anything dangerous would be brought in. Ever since your first arrival, she has wanted to search you. Now she finally achieved what she wanted. Congratulation!”
Mama Cui couldn’t believe that Minglan could still make jokes at this moment while her nerves were already stretched to the breaking point. Then Mama Cui couldn’t help shooting Minglan a look of annoyance.
“All right. Let’s talk.”
Minglan’s teasing look gradually faded away and her face turned cold.
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